Reye’s syndrome << ryz SIHN drohm >> is a rare childhood disease of the liver and central nervous system. Advanced cases can result in brain damage or death. The disease kills about 3 to 5 percent of its victims.
Most patients with Reye’s syndrome are from 4 to 15 years old. The majority of them develop the disease while recovering from a mild viral illness, such as chickenpox or influenza. For some unknown reason, the virus apparently triggers Reye’s syndrome. Studies indicate that many Reye’s syndrome patients had been given aspirin during the viral illness. Based on these studies, experts and government health agencies have cautioned against using aspirin to treat chickenpox, influenza, or various other viral illnesses in children.
The first symptom of Reye’s syndrome is repeated vomiting. In mild cases, the patient recovers with no aftereffects. But if the disease progresses, convulsions and alternating states of excitation and confused sleepiness may occur. In the final stages of the disease, brain cells swell and pressure builds in the skull, followed by a coma and possible brain damage or death.
The cause of Reye’s syndrome has not been determined. Physicians treat the disease by giving the patient glucose and other nutrients, and by reducing the body’s production of ammonia. They use drugs or surgery to lower the pressure within the skull if it reaches dangerous levels. This treatment has saved many patients. Reye’s syndrome was first described by R. D. K. Reye, an Australian pathologist, in 1963.
